Bharti Retail unveils its roadmap for India

Bharti Retail unveiled its roadmap at a press conference in Delhi. Addressing the press conference Mr. Rajan Bharti Mittal, Joint Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises said the company will roll out its first store by first quarter of 2008. The company plans to invest over $2 to 2.5 billion by 2015. It plans to have Pan-India operations and is expected to have about 10 million sq.ft of retail space by then.

On the question of brand name that the company intends to use, Mr. Mittal said a research is underway and the name will be decided as soon as the result comes. Mr. Mittal added that Wal-Mart will provide logistics, technology, cash and carry and other support to the company.

Mr. Rajan Bharti Mittal explained that the company’s aim is to provide choice and quality to consumers at affordable prices, efficient supply chain management and on time availability of goods. The company will launch its stores in multiple consumer friendly formats, which will include Hypermarkets, Supermarkets and Convenience store. The company plans to employ around 60,000 people in the country, and has targeted the youth, women, ex-servicemen in this regard.

Bharti Retail has also planned to partner with the existing local or the mom-and-pop stores across India through a franchise model. The company intends to serve all the shopping necessities of the average Indian like food and groceries, meat, electronic appliances, fresh fruits and vegetables, FMCG, dairy products, staples, clothing and footwear etc. Besides this the company has also planned to provide ready outlets for the relatively unknown brands of small manufacturers, which would be sold as private label.

Watch out for the interview of Rajan Bharti Mittal and an in-depth article on the roadmap of Bharti Retail, in the Editorial/Analysis section.